RhysP

I'm generally a big fan of white pearl scratchplates ( I have one on my Levinson Strat). However, there are a couple of things that make me not like the look of the one you have on your bass: The thin black line of the laminate around the edge; it looks like you've put it on your bass & then gone around it with a black felt tip pen. All white rather than white/black laminate would look far better IMO. I don't think the gold screws work with the rest of the hardware. They would have worked fine with the gold anodised scratchplate but I think chrome or nickel ones would look better with the pearl plate.

The Spector I bought recently was strung with a set of Blue Steels - very nice strings. I thought the gauge was going to be a bit light for me but they feel great.

[quote name='cetera' timestamp='1335391342' post='1630524'] Rhys, gorgeous Spector there my friend! [/quote] Cheers matey! It's an absolutely superb bass & I love it - the Zons haven't been out of their cases since I got it. There's not a single thing I don't like about it

XTC - Skylarking.

Is this Ex UFO & Lonestar guitarist Paul "Tonka" Chapman's band Ghost you're referring to or is there another band now going by that name?

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1334752817' post='1620658'] Technique-wise..pretty limited altho it works for him as he is the band writer as well..so it has to fit. If that is your style/techique outside of that gig, then you are going to find a lot of stuff pretty hard to cover. [/quote] Are you not familiar with Geddys playing over the years? He hasn't always played in that style - that flamenco/strumming thing he does didn't really start until the 90's.

How long are you going for? If it's only a couple of weeks then why bother taking a bass at all? Have a break from it, enjoy your holiday & come back to it refreshed & enthusiastic. You'll need a proper pro flightcase to ensure that it doesn't get destroyed & there's also the possibility of it going missing in transit. If you're going for a long time then I'd consider buying a bass out there & flogging it before you come back before going to all the hassle of taking one with you.

[quote name='The Walloper' timestamp='1334570535' post='1617618'] Don't know what it is about these basses. They just don't seem that popular, which is strange. [/quote] Really? They've got to be the third or fourth most popular electric bass in the world (don't know whether they'd be in front or behind Rickenbacker after the Fender Precision & Jazz). I've had a couple over the years (a four & a five string) but was pretty underwhelmed with both of them to be honest.

[quote name='spinynorman' timestamp='1334682956' post='1619738'] So it really feels like it's going to fall apart, just when it seemed to be going so well. Is that what happens? [/quote] Yes, every single f***ing time. That's why I have no intention whatsoever of gigging again - the hassle/enjoyment ratio is always skewed predominantly in favour of the former in my experience.

For the 70's ones what about David Bowies "Ziggy Stardust" (easy & great fun to play) & a punkier one, something like The Buzzcocks "Ever Fallen In Love With Someone (You Shouldn't have Fallen In Love With)"? What about a nice bit of Level 42 for one of the 80's ones?

No need to f*** about with an amp tech for that - just squirt a bit of switch cleaner in them & twiddle them about a bit. If you don't feel confident doing it yourself then Nobles in Whitchurch is possibly your best bet - their tech guy (don't know if it's still Clive Noble) is meant to be pretty good with amps.

You might not be able to have the bass operate in passive mode - it depends on whether the pickups themselves are active or passive. If the pickups are passive then you can do it as all you'd effectively be doing is switching the tone circuit off. If the pickups are active however you'd be switching it all off & you'd have no sound.

[quote name='matski' timestamp='1332236701' post='1585109'] The only other guy I've met who has owned one was Paul Raven of Killing Joke - [/quote] I think Martin McAloon from Prefab Sprout used to have one in the 80's.

[quote name='Shockwave' timestamp='1334265905' post='1613664'] Gotta be the green, you know it makes sense! [/quote] I'll never get tired of seeing that Pedulla - it's awesome. I'd go for Green or Yellow......or Purple.

Don't know if you've tried asking this guy - he's got a few 4001/4003 basses & he's in the UK: http://www.leftyguitars.co.uk/rick.html

[quote name='chrismuzz' timestamp='1334263516' post='1613598'] Looks like a great board to me dude! Though i'm sure you could squeeze two or three more in there [/quote] Cheers! I do have a couple more pedals in mind, the main one being a Jacques "Kashmir" Tremolo/Leslie simulator & possibly a volume pedal of some sort.

My pathetically small excuse for a pedalboard: [IMG]http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k120/RhysP/Pedalboard.jpg[/IMG]

[quote name='shizznit' timestamp='1334144334' post='1611475'] If you are a 5 string player and can stretch your budget by another 75 quid this BC member is selling their Spector Euro. Awesome basses for rock music and very well made. [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/173097-spector-euro-5lx-l675-shipped-immaculate/page__fromsearch__1"]http://basschat.co.u...__fromsearch__1[/url] [/quote] I would have suggested this as I've got a Euro 5LX myself & it's an awesome bass. The problem with this one is it's had the guts ripped out so to put it back to it's original state is going to cost another £100 or so on top of the asking price.

If you're thinking of a PJ configuration have a look at this: http://basschat.co.uk/topic/171274-robin-ranger-bass/ The seller is open to offers & it will kick the sh*t out of any fender. Robin gear is seriously good quality.

Bass was my first instrument - didn't start dabbling on guitar until a lot later on.